Metal-bending machine



Sept. 28', 1926. 1,601,366

w. J. KIRKMAN Er AL METAL BENDING MACHINE Filed Jan. 19. 1925 s Sheets-Shoat 1 v INVENTORS ATTOR Sept. 28 1926.

W. J. KIRKMAN ET AL METAL BENDING MACHI NE Filed Jan. 19 1925 3 sheets-Sheet 2 I N VEN TORS B W41 ATTORNEY.

Sept. 28,1926. ,v 1,601,368

' W. J. KIRKMAN El AL METAL BENDING MACHINE Filed Jan. 9, 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet I} W In gm 9% l E 4! R2111 h'li'; I i

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INVENTOKS hlrlrmdn Patented Sept. 28, 1926.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM J. KIRKMAN, OF DENVER, COLORADO,

CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNORS TO WALTER H. ONEALL, TRUSTEE, OF CRAWFORDS- VILLE, INDIANA.

In machines of this character, parallel rolls, usually three in number,

AND KARL J. THORSBY, OF OAKLAND,

METAL-BENDING MACHINE.

Application filed January 19, 1925. Serial No. 3,350.

to improvements in commonly known as n sheet metal works galvanized iron or in cylindrical form. a series of and transversely grooved for the production of corrugated culverts, are mounted for conjoint rotation to simultaneously act upon a sheet J of metal fed between them and by their relative positions bend it in cylindrical form.

The rolls are adjustable to vary the radius to which the metal is curved adjustment is employed for the removal of the and a similar the rolls to separate sheet of cylindrical corrugated metal after the operation is completed.

The removal of the work further necessitates the temporary withdrawal of a bearing at an end of the machine to permit of the completed cylinder being slid lengthwise of the rolls past one of their ends at which they are supported.

The adjustment of the rolls and the withdrawal of the bearing of the machine as here were attended with time and efiort, usually tion of two operatives, object of the present after each operation tofore accomplished,

an expenditure of much requiring the attenand it is the primary invention to lessen the exertion and time required for the removal of the work by the provision of a mechanical appliance which accomplishes both the separation of the rolls and the displacement of the bearing after a simple adjustment of a controlling member by an operative located at the front of the machine.

A further object is to accomplish the desired result by an appliance operating under the influence of a pressure fluid, and still another object the appliance operated valve.

In order to bend the diff to the machine to is to control the operation of by the adjustment of a foot sheets of metal fed erent predetermined radii, one of the rolls is adjustable to vary its posi "on relative to its companions, and

it is another object of the invention to provide in association with the operating mechanism of the machine, an indicatory element which shows the relative positions of the rolls upon a scale or In connection with th dial.

e last mentioned feature of the invention, we attain an additional object by indicating the positions of the rolls, upon a scale denoting the correspond ing radii of the cylinders formed between them.

Further objects of the invention principally relating to details of construction and novel arrangements and combinations of parts, will fully appear in the course of the following description made with reference to the accompanying drawings in which an embodiment of the invention has been illustrated in simple and practical form In the drawings in the several views of which like parts are similarly designated,

Figure 1 represents'a partially sectional front elevation of a culvert forming machine made in accordance with our invention;

Figure 2, a plan view of the same, in

which parts of the rolls have been broken.

tion. of the machine looking in the directionwz:

of the arrow 3 in Figure 2; 7

Figures 4: and 5, partially diagrammatic and fragmentary sections on the impinge, Figure 1, drawn to an enlarged scale', the position of the adjustable roll of the machine having been shown in Figure f in the normal operative position, and in Figure 5, in the osition to which it is moved for the removal of the finished work;

Figure 6, a partially sectional end-elevation looking in the direction of the arrow 6 in Figure 1;

Figure 7, a vertical transverse section in the planeindicated by the line 7-7 in Figure 1;

Figures 8 and 9, enlarged cross-sectional views of the main controlling valve of the adjusting appliance, taken on the line 8-8 in Figure 2, Figure 8 showing the valve in the normal position it occupies when the machine is in its operative condition for bending the culverts, and Figure 9 showing the adjusted position of the valve for the removal of the work from the machine;

Figure 10, a section on the line 10-10, Figure 2; v

Figure 11, a longitudinal section through one of the air-cylinders included in the adjusting appliance; an

Figure 12, a diagrammatic view showing in a cross-sectional plane the relative positions of the bending rolls and a culvert after it has been bent into circular form by the operation thereof.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the machine to which the improvements comprised in our invention are applied, includes a base-frame 12, on which are erected three standards 13, 14 and 15 for the support of the bending rolls and the operating mechanism.

The rolls, three in number, are disposed between the standards, in parallel relation to each other, two of them being placed one above the other at the front'of the machine and the other being disposed rearward of the others and partially above a horizontal plane in the space between them.

In the operation of the machine, the rolls are rotated in the directions of the arrows in Figure 12 by the mechanism hereinafter to be described, and a sheet of metal 19 fed into the space between the rolls 16 and 17 encounters the rear roll 18 which causes it to curve upwardly and upon reentering the space between the rolls, to assume a cylindrical form as illustrated in the same figure.

The rolls are circumferentially grooved to coordinate with corrugated sheets of metal and they are supported in their bearin 's "on the standards by journals of reduced diameter.

"Tl'ie lower roll 17 is vertically adjustable to vary the width of the space into which the worr is'fed, the rear roll 18' is adjustable jin' noblique plane to determine the radius "16 w h the worl: is bent in the operation of themachin-e, and the upper roll 16 has a determined vertical adjustment which is effected after each operation for the removal of the cylindrically bent sheet.

For the adjustment of the lower roll, the boxes 20 in which its journals are supported, are slidably fitted in vertical ways of the standards 14 and 15, and supported upon vertical axially movable screws 21.

Rotary nuts 22 in the form of beveled gear-- wheels engage the screws between shoulders on the standards which prevent their vertical displacement, and pinions at opposite ends of ashaft 24 mounted on brackets 25 on the standards, mesh with the gear-wheels to cause them to rotate in unison in either direction when the shaft is rotated by manipulation of a hand wheel 26 which is disposed within easy reach ofan operative standing in front of the machine.

The rear roller 18 which as stated hereinbefore, determines the radius to which the work is bent, is rotatably supported in boxes 27 movably fitted in oblique slideways of the standards 14 and 15 as best shown in Figures 6 and 7 of the drawings.

The boxes rest against the ends of screws 28 which are axially movable in the slideways' and which cooperate with nuts 29 in the form of beveled gears, held against axial displacement in recesses at the lower ends of the wa The bevel-gears mesh with correspondingly formed pinions 30 at the ends of a shaft 31 supported in brackets 82 of the standards as shown in Figure 2, and this shaft is operatively connected with a power shaft 33 by means of gear-wheels 34 and 35.

The powers raft 33 carries two loose pulleys 35 and 37 which by means of straight and crossed belts 38 and 39' are connected with corresponding pulleys on a conveniently located drive-shaft, and the pulleys are provided with cluteh-faces'for engagement with a sliding clutch member 40 in the space between them.

The clutch meml'ier which is rotatively connected with the siiaf't by a key or feather, is engaged by the bifurcated end of a lever 41 fulcrumed as at 42 on an arm 48 projecting inwardly from the standard 13.

The opposite end of the lever is pivotall'y connected with an upright controlling lever 44 by means of a link 45 best shown in Fig ure 2, the lever being pivoted at its lower extremity on a stud 46 on the standard 14 at the front of the machine.

In order to facilitate the adjustment of the rear roller for the production of culverts of different diameters, an indicatory element is provided which by the position of a rotary pointer 47 relative to a circular gaduated scale 48 on a dial 49-, denotes the elevations to which the roll must be adjusted for designated radii of culverts to be formed by the operation of the machine.

The dial is preferably mounted on top of the standard 14 where it is clearly visible to the operator standing in front of the ma chine and the pointer 47 which is rotatably supported in a bearing in the center ofthe dial, is connected with a pinion 50 which is engaged by a rack-bar 51 fastened to the adjacent sliding box 2? of the roll 18.

The upper roll 16 which as stated hereinbefore is raised after each operation of the machine for the removal of the finished work is at its outer end supported in a bearing 52 adapted to be temporarily dieplaced by an adjustment under control of the operator, for the purpose of clearing the space between the rolls at the end of the machine, through which the work is removed.

The bearing 52 is to this end formed at the upper end of an upright bar which at its opposite extremity is pivotally mounted between two ribs 54 on the outside of the standard.

A curved arm55 projectim downwardly from the bar has a iivotal connection with the rod 56 of a piston 57 which is fitted for iii-0 work reciprocation in an oscillating cylinder 58. The cylinder which is mounted on a cross bar 59 on the base frame of the machine, is at its ends connected with a conveniently located source of compressed air or other pressure-fluid through the intermediary of a valve 60 controlled by the operator at the front of the machine.

' The valve consists of ahousing 61 having ports at quadrant points as best shown in Figures 8 and 9, and a rotary plug 62 which has two passages 63 for the connection of the ports in pairs.

Opposite ports 6% and 65 are connected with the ends of the cylinder by flexible conduits 66 and 67, an intermediate port 68 is connected with the source of supply by means of a pipe 69 and the fourth port 70 opens into the atmosphere for the exhaust of pressure fluid from the cylinder.

A pedal 71 connected with the rotary valve plug permits of reversing the position of the plug by pressure of the foot.

In the normal condition of the machine when the bar 53 occupies its upright position for the support of the roll in the bearing at the upper end thereof, the piston is held in the forward end of the cylinder by the fluid supplied to the cylinder through the valve ports 64 and 68 connected by the passage 63 of the valve plug in the position illustrated in Figure 8.

The pressure fluid thus maintains the bearing in place until it is desired to remove the from the machine when by pressure upon the pedal, the position of the valveplug is reversed to connect the port 6% with the port 70 for the escape of the pressure fluid from the cylinder into the atmosphere, while the port 65 connected to the opposite end of the cylinder, is placed in communication with the source of supply by means of the port 68.

The pressure fluid entering the cylinder, compels the piston to move to the opposite end of the same with the result that the bearing swings outwardly about its pivot and the space between the rolls is cleared at the end of the machine to permit of the withdrawal of the finished work.

The removal of the culvert from the machine cannot be accomplished without separating the rolls between which it was formed and with this object in view, the operating appliance includes an element which cooperates with the bearingmoving element hereinbefore described to raise the upper roll 16 immediately after the outer bearing thereof has been displaced by movement of the bar of whicha t is a part. i

The journal 16 of the roll 16 opposite to that normally supported in the bearing 52 is to this end mounted eccentrically of two axially alined circular bearings 7 2 which as shown in Figures 4, 5 and 10, are rotatably .pivotally connected with fitted in correspondingly formed recesses of the standards 13 and 1 1.

The rotary bearings are connected by a bar 73, and a crank arm 7 1 on one of the bearings has at its outer end wrist in pivotal connection with the rod 75 of a piston in. a second oscillating cylinder 76 which like the first described cylinder 58, is mounted on a bearing of the base frame of the machine.

The supply and exhaust of pressure fluid to and from the second cylinder is controlled by a valve 77 constructed similar to that hereinbefore described and shown in Figures 8 and 9, and the movement of the second valve coordinates with that of the first valve for its subsequent reversal.

Opposite ports of the valve 77 are connected with opposite ends of the cylinder 7 6 by flexible conduits 78 and 7 9 as best shown in Figure 2, an intermediate port is connected with the source of supply by a branch 80 of the pipe 69 through which the motive fluid is conducted to the valve 60 of the cylinder 58 and the fourth pert opens into the atmosphere as before. I v

The rotary plug of the valve has exteriorly of its housing a crank arm 81 provided with a wrist which projects loosely in a longitudinal slot 82 of a push-rod S3. The rod is the arm 55 of the swinging bearing as at 8d and a coiled spring is applied between the end of the crank arm and a fixed part of the base frame to return the plug to its original position.

'lVhen the bearing 52 is in its normal position in which it supports the outer journal of the roll 16, the latter occupies the position in which it co-operates with the other rolls to bend'the sheet of metal fed between them to the predetermined radius, and when after the operation is completed, the bearing is swung outwardly by the operator who steps upon the pedal 71 to reverse the position of the valve 62, the roll 16 is subsequently raised by rotation of the circular bearings in which it is eccentrically supported.

The adjustment of the roll is accomplished when the bearing 52 nears the end of its outward movement, by the engagement of an end of the slot 82 in the push rod 83 with the wrist on the crank of the valve 77, which reverses the position of the valve plug and thereby causes the air which held the piston in the cylinder 76 in its normal position, to be exhausted while the opposite end of the cylinder is connected with the source of supply.

The consequent movement of the piston from one end of the cylinder to the other is converted into a rotary movement of the connected bearings 72 through the instrumentality of the crank arm 74 which connects with the end of the piston rod 75. v and the roll 16 is thereby raised a sufficient distance above the other rolls to permit of sliding the corrugated cylinder outwardly be tween the rolls and thrort h the space at the ends of the same provided by the displace ment of the swinging bearing 52.

In Figures 4 and 5, the positions of the rolls have been indicated by dash-dot circles, and the corresponding positions of the eccentric bearings and the therewith associated crank-arm in full lines, the first mentioned figure showing the parts in their normal operative position and the other figure showing them in the position to which they are adjusted for the removal of the completed work as hereinbeiore described.

T he operating mechanism of the machine which efiects the simultaneous rotation of the tl ree rolls in the directions indicated by the arrows in Figure 12, comprises a shaft 86 supported l11l')6211111gs onthe standards 18 and 14 and carrying a gear-wheel 87 for its driving connection with the rolls.

The gear wheel meshes to this end with a corresponding gear wheel 88 on the journal of the lower roll as shown in Figure 7 of the drawings, and the lastn'ientioned gear wheel imparts its rotary movement in oppo site direction to the upper roll through the medium of a gear wheel 89., and to the rear roll in the same direction through the intermediary of an idler gear-wheel 90-which meshes with a gear wheel 9-1 on the journal of said roll.

The power shaft is driven by means of a gear wheel 92 and a therewith operatively engaging pinion 93. from ajack shaft 94; which as shown. in Figure 3 is supported on a bearing on the standard 13 and in a bearing 95 mounted separately on the foundation frame, and which carries a pulley 96 for its connection with a conveniently located source of energy.

The rotative continuity of the shaft with the pulley is established through a clutch 97, the shiftable member 98 of which is through the medium of cranleshaits 99 and 100 and a rod 101 connected with an operat ing lever 102 on the end of the shaft 100 at the front of the machine.

The operation of the machine is readily controller by a single operator who feeds sheets of metal previously cut to the required length into the space between the rolls 16 and 17.

Upon striking the rearroll 18 the sheet is bent upwardly and after reentering the space between the first mentioned rolls assumes a circular form with its edges overlapping one another for their subsequent connection by rivets in a separate operation The radius to which the sheet is bent is determined by the position of the rear roll 18 which may be raised and lowered at the will or the operator by manipulation of the lever 14 which controls the power-driven mechanism by which the adjustment of the roll is effected, it being understood that the correct position of the roll for any desired radius is readily ascertained by means of the indicator whose rotary pointer is connected with one of the sliding boxes of the roll as hereinbefore described.

The operation of the rolls is controlled by the operator through the medium of the clutclrlever 102 and when the work is completed, it is removed from the machine after the swinging earing 52 is moved outwardly and the upper roll 16 is raised by the fluidoperated mechanism which is controlled by the foot-pedal 71. 7

It will be evident that while controlling the mechanism by which the bearing 52 is displaced and the roller 16 is lifted, the operator has both hands free for the removal of the finished cylinder from between the rolls after he has discontinued their rotary motion by adjustment of the lever 102, and that he is enabled to restore the bearing and the upper roll to their original position, resume the operation of the machine and readjust its parts without the use of an assist ant and without leaving his place in front of the machine.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patcut is:

1. In machine of the character described, a set of co-operating bending rolls, a movably mounted support for one said rolls, a cylinder, a piston therein, in operative con nection with the support, a source of pressure fluid, and a valve to connect the cylinder at opposite sides of the piston alternately with the source.

2. In a machine of the character described, a set of co-operating bending rolls, a movably mounted support for one of said rolls, a cylinder, a piston therein, in operative con. nection with the support, a source of pres sure fluid, and a foot-adjusted valve to con nect the cylinder at opposite sides of the piston alternately with the source.

3. In amachine of the character described; a set of co-operating bending rolls one of which is adjustable for the removal of the work, a movably mounted support for said adjustable roll, an appliance operating by fluidpressure to control the movement of the support, a source of pressure-fluid in connection with said appliance, a valve controlling said connection, an appliance operating by fluid-pressure for the adjustment of the roll, a connection between the second appliance and the source, a valve controlling the sec-- ond connection, and means for the operation of the second valve, subject to the operation of the first appliance.

t. In a machine of the character described, a set of co-operating bending rolls one of which is adjustable for the removal of the Work, a movably mounted support for said adjustable roll, two cylinders, pistons in said cylinders operatively connected With the support and With the adjustable roll respectively, a source of pressure-fluid, connections between the source and the cylinders, valves controlling said connections, means for the operation of one 0'1 the valves by the operator of the machine, and means for operating the other valve by movement of the support.

5. In a machine of the character described,

a set of CO-OPBTELtlIlg bending rolls, one of said rolls being adjustable to regulate the radius of the Work, a shaft, loose pulleys on said shaft, in connection Witha driving element, a manually adjustable clutch to connect either pulley with the shaft, and transmission means for the adjustment of the roll by rotation of the shaft in either direction.

In testimony whereof We have afliXed our signatures,

WILLIAM J. KIRKMAN. KARL J. THORSBY. 

